Bashspirt to Pay Dearly for Vodka Label Rights

Bashspirt (Bashkir Spirits Company, Bashspirt) has announced a tender worth 109 million rubles ($1,211,100 at current rates) for the right to use a label for vodka from a third-party organization. The company plans to purchase 16.3 million pieces for 0.5-liter and 0.7-liter bottles in various versions: classic, propolis, and others.

The procurement is conducted under Federal Law No. 223-FZ, which allows the name of the supplier who ultimately receives the contract to remain undisclosed.

Simultaneously, Bashspirt is announcing a second tender — for labels for vodka, including pepper-flavored and lemon-flavored varieties. The starting price is 57.95 million rubles ($643,900 at current rates) for 33.7 million pieces. These tenders are also conducted under Federal Law No. 223-FZ, and the right to use the labels expires once the entire purchased volume is used.

Earlier, we reported on the initiation of a criminal case regarding the embezzlement of more than 400 million rubles (approximately $4.44 million at current rates) by officials of Bashspirt. In the case of the Bashspirt trading house, former director Alexander Kompanchenko and Ufa city deputy Artur Khazigaleev were convicted. According to investigators, Khazigaleev leased premises to Bashspirt at inflated prices.

And in 2024, the court found former Bashspirt CEO Rauf Nugumanov guilty of entering into deliberately unfavorable lease agreements for housing and warehouses in 2019–2022. Nugumanov received a suspended sentence of 4 years and 9 months in prison.

The company«s new head, Raif Abdrakhimov, was arrested last year. He was charged with similar actions, and the trial has not yet taken place.